EDMONTON – It took 17 games, but Chris Jones finally got what he was looking for.

The Edmonton Eskimos head coach said on Friday that he was still seeking that complete, 60-minute effort from his team in a game this season.

In the Eskimos 37-3 demolition of the B.C. Lions, Jones got it all. He got his defence wrapping a plastic bag over the heads of the Lions’ offence, holding it to just a single first-down in the first half and 138 yards net offence overall.

He got consistent production from his offence, which had a touchdown in each quarter of the game. Mike Reilly made 14 of 24 passes for 289 yards and ran seven times for 54 yards, scoring twice on the ground and throwing one interception. Adarius Bowman caught five passes for 104 yards and running back John White got the ball 17 times and ran for a game-high 122 yards.

Special teams contributions cascaded down on the Lions all night, as Kendial Lawrence zigzagged for 86 yards on punt returns and 27 on kickoffs, offering up good field position for the offence.

On top of that, the Eskimos got what they wanted, improving to 12-5 and clinching a home playoff game in the Canadian Football League postseason.

Careful not to shower his team with praise before the end goal of a Grey Cup is reached, Jones kept his thoughts on the game succinct.

“We played very good. It’s been a long time coming that we’ve been trying to put four quarters together and it was good to go in there,” Jones said, gesturing toward the team’s locker-room, “and brag on them a bit.”

The Eskimos will either host the Lions (now 9-8) or the Saskatchewan Roughriders, who have the same record and are currently on their bye week, on Sunday, Nov. 16. The game will mark the Eskimos first home playoff date since the 2011 season and just the second the team has seen in 10 years.

Saturday’s win came in front of a season-low crowd of 26,388, despite it being unseasonably warm. That didn’t stop the Eskimos from taking advantage of the warm, calm afternoon start.

Edmonton went up early, with kicker Hugh O’Neill – who was perfect on the night with 4-4 converts and 3-3 field goals -- opening scoring with a 47-yard field goal at 3:41. Reilly led an eight-play, 85-yard drive next, highlighted by a 30-yard John White run before finishing it off himself from two yards out.

Paul McCallum gave the Lions all of the offence they’d get when he chipped in a 21-yard field goal in the second quarter. The Eskimos responded with a seven-play, 83-yard drive that Esks third-string QB Pat White finished off from 10 yards out at 5:20. O’Neill’s convert pushed the score to 17-3. As the Eskimos’ defence continued to clamp down on Kevin Glenn (9-17 passing, 68 yards) and the Lions, Reilly and the offence plugged away, mixing their passing attack with White’s run game.

The points kept coming, with Reilly striking from short yardage in the third quarter, then Pat White running one in from 10 yards out in the fourth.

“We came out and we were ready to play from the first snap,” Reilly said.

“We played all three phases for all four quarters and we’ve been wanting to do that for a long time. We had a lot of guys stepping up.

“I thought Selvish (Capers) played a really good game (at left guard) as did the rest of the offensive line. Paris (Jackson) came in and did a great job,” Reilly said of the former Lion who suited up with the Eskimos for the first time this season, after signing on Sept. 29. He had two catches for 32 yards.

“He had some big plays; not just catching the ball, but setting up routes for Adarius and I thought for his first time on the field he was a big advantage for us.”

As Jones pointed out, you’ll never see a perfect game. Reilly threw an interception. John White, for all he did well, fumbled a ball away in the first half. On Saturday, playing the second-last game on the regular-season schedule, the Eskimos were as close to perfect this year as they’ve been all year.

The most telling stat of it all lies in penalties. Still the most penalized team in the CFL in terms of yards surrendered (1,671), the Eskimos were only flagged three times on Saturday, giving up just 25 yards.

Jones and the Eskimos got what they wanted – the complete game, the momentum they want as the season winds down and the confidence that comes with it. Next Saturday’s game in Regina is as meaningless as the one the Eskimos played there a year ago, only they’re on the other side of the table now.

“We’re getting right down to it. The team that can get the momentum and start shining late is going to have a good shot,” said Eskimos linebacker J.C. Sherritt, who watched his CFL single-season tackle record of 129 be eclipsed by B.C.’s Solomon Elimimian on Saturday.

Sherritt responded with a stat-stuffing seven tackles, one on special teams, all three of the team’s quarterback sacks and a forced fumble.

“That’s what we’re focused on, is playing a complete game as a defence all the way around. Obviously the offence did great, but we wanted to make sure that we started fast and ended fast.”

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